Given name & surname
Clem
“one who is merciful”·“an easygoing woman”
Clem is a variant of Clementine. In French use, Clementine carries the interpretation “one who is merciful.” Clem is a short form of Clemence. One Latin interpretation is “an easygoing woman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Clem is a variant of Clementine. In French use, Clementine carries the interpretation “one who is merciful.” Clem is a short form of Clemence. One Latin interpretation is “an easygoing woman.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Clem is a short form of Clement. An origin associated with Clement is Late Latin. Clem is a short form of Clemence. An origin associated with Clemence is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Clem is used as a shortened form of Clement.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Clem is a variant of Clementine. The history of Clementine gives this family its wider story. Clementine was in use during the 19th century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Clem through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,329
- 4,275 boys · 54 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 109 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 9 in 2017. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 102 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,280 as a first name in 2020; 7,728 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Clem’s family of names
In English usage, Clem is a diminutive of Clement. Clem has a related form in Clementine. Clem is a short form of Clement.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Clem
- Clem BurkeAmerican drummer (1954–2025)
- Clem BevansAmerican actor (1879-1963)
- Clem HillAustralian cricketer (1877-1945)
- Clem ClempsonEnglish guitaristborn 1949
- Clem OhamezeNigerian actorborn 1965
- Clem BeauchampAmerican actor and director (1898–1992)
- Clem TholetSouth African musician1948–2004
- Clem HaskinsAmerican basketball player and coachborn 1943
- Clem StephensonEnglish football player and manager (1890-1961)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Clem, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“from the moor of the elm trees”
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“from the nobleman's estate”
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98% boys · 2% girls